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Advice Dental Assistant Dental School Tips

U.S. News Rates Dentist as the #1 Best Profession of 2013

You guys are in the right place! Dentistry was crowned as the best job of the year by U.S. News. The list is based on the Labor Department’s predictions of the occupations with the highest hiring demand from now until 2020; selections take into account employment growth as well as median salary, estimated stress level, and work-life balance.

U.S. News has put together a wonderful resource analyzing dentistry’s future. This page includes in-depth salary analysis, a summary of what is needed to succeed as a dentist, as well as, advice from dentists.

As the article mentioned, it is ideal to begin working towards dental school starting in high school. This is one of the reasons why the next few articles will be directed towards high school students who are interested in dentistry.

Happy Holidays! Dental Holidays

Categories
Advice Dental School Tips

First Round of Acceptances are Out!

Congrats to everybody who was accepted in this first round! Those accepted get calls today congratulating them and they should find their status updated on AADSAS shortly, if not already.

Now you can relax and no longer stress about if you will ever be a dentist! (Lucky for you!)

Here are a few reminders now that you are in:

  •  Maintain your grades! Don’t let senioritis kick in fully! Yes, you don’t have to get “A”‘s anymore, but they are still recommended if you want to keep that GPA up for graduation. You won’t be kicked out of dental school for receiving “B’s”.
  • Complete the classes you told the AADSAS application you were planning on taking. Your acceptance can be revoked if you do not complete those classes as your decision factored in your upcoming workload.

Meet your class mates! Visit The Student Doctor Network forms threads for school specific acceptances!

 

Kick back, relax, and enjoy your senior year! You earned it! If you would like, let me know where you got in using Ask Elias!

Categories
Advice Dental Assistant Dental School Pre-Dental Society Tips Website

Introducing the Ultimate List of Pre-Dental Resources

Hey everybody!

After seeing the popularity of the post Recommended Resources for Pre-Dental Students, I decided to release the full list of resources!

Today we celebrate the release of the Ultimate List of Pre-Dental Resources! The list can be found at the top of the website in between “Ask Elias” and “Portfolio“. It contains many of the links I have looked through and collected over the years. I would highly recommend using it to its full potential. There is much more information there than I will be able to relay on AlmazDentistry.com.

The plan is to keep the list growing as I discover new resources. I also hope to figure out a way of making it much more organized. Currently I am looking into organizing using buttons or hover-over text-boxes. If you have any recommended links of your own, please send them through “Ask Elias”! Of course, you will be credited for your find!

The list will also be going onto AlmazDensitry’s sister website Pre-Dental Society at UC Irvine so keep on the look out!

Have a great weekend!

Categories
Advice Dental School Tips

Secondary Applications: Are you ready for them?

Right now we are in the middle of secondary application season for those who have already submitted thier AADSAS applications. If you have not submitted your application, please do so as soon as possible!

Secondary applications, also called supplemental applications, are used by many dental schools to get to know their applicants better, prior to offering an interview. A supplemental application allows dental schools to ask for additional information  that is not covered in the generic AADSAS application, but is important to that schools mission. Typically, you are asked to complete a supplemental application shortly after a dental school receives your AADSAS application and you have cleared the initial review stage. Supplemental applications typically have a short answer prompt, a few questions, as well as a supplemental application fee. Please BE SURE to pay the fee immediately, dental schools will not review your supplemental application until the fee is paid. Do not slow down your application because of this. This fee is individual from the AADSAS fee you previously paid.

Essay/short answer topics can vary greatly from school to school. They can be as simple as “Why Us?” or as open ended as a “What Would You Do?” in XYZ scenario. I would highly encourage  doing research about your desired schools ahead of time so you can give yourself adequate time to answer the short answer properly. Most schools post their supplementary application online and they commonly use the same one for many years.

Alternatively, you may find individuals talking about the supplemental application essays on resources like www.studentdoctor.net. Giving yourself the advantage by doing this research will save you the stress of having to keep track and complete several secondary applications in the allotted time they give you. The ADEA has an excellent and up-to-date breakdown of what schools have supplemental as well as what to expect from each supplemental application so you can get items like photos, high school transcripts, and so-on, ready to submit.

Remember, your answer to the short answer is just as important as your personal statement. Having a weak short answer supplemental shows the dental school that you do not care and that their school is a low priory to you. It is vital to maintain the same quality level throughout your application.

If you have any questions please submit them using the Ask Elias page. Have a good day everybody!

Categories
Dental School Website

Almaz Dentistry is Now Half a Year Old!

Good evening! I am excited to announce that AlmazDentistry.com is now a half of a year old. WHO HOOO! The popularity of this website has been unbelievable! The number of private email questions has been going through the roof as the website grows its community. I am always excited to find a personalized email question in my inbox from a reader.

To celebrate our first six months, I decided to do some spring cleaning and release a nice update to the website that introduces switching banners. This new feature will allow popular content to be visually displayed in a large banner at the top of the home page. These can range from plain images, images with links,  youtube videos, countdown timers, etc. If you visit the home page, you will see a banner supporting Smile Train, an organization I hope to help donate to in the near future. Clicking on the banner links to Smile Train’s website. This allows readers easy access to more information about the organization. As the site continues to grow, more features will be added, things will only be getting better!

I have also added a nice little feature that links to posts that are “Recommended for You” based on the current ones you are reading. Keep on the lookout for it in the bottom right corner of the screen!

For those who are applying this season, I STRONGLY urge you to turn in your application ASAP. Based on reports at StudentDoctor.net, we are in our 6th wave of applications being delivered to dental schools. Postponing your application any further WILL significantly increase your chances of become a rolling admissions applicant. This will TREMENDOUSLY hurt your chances of getting into the dental schools you desire.

One of my next topics will be secondary applications in preparation for the wave of secondary applications soon to be released! Expect this post in the upcoming week. I am also working on a new addition to my portfolio series, so keep an eye out for that. I will be returning to work as a full-time dental assistant starting next week and content may slow down during this time. As a result, I am looking for a partner to become an important part of the AlmazDentistry.com team as a writer. If you are interested, please submit your contact information using the Ask Elias form.

As always, enjoy the rest of summer and get ready for another exciting year towards your future as a dentist!